| Comment Number: | 522418-01351 |
| Received: | 6/7/2006 7:06:00 PM |
| Organization: | Whacky Whatabouts! |
| Commenter: | Susan Beal |
| State: | TX |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
I understand that there are lots of unscrupulous people in the world who think nothing of fraudulently offering people a chance to own their own business, or get rich quickly, or whatever other claim may be the latest craze at any given time. If you were to go after people who use such deceptive practices, no one would think twice about arguing the need for this. On the other hand, what you are proposing is that all people who use direct sales reveal all sorts of information, much of which may be unavailable (for example requiring a person who is attempting to recruit people into their downline to provide the names, city of residence, etc. of ten people who have joined their own organization within the last three years,) especially if that individual has just started in this business themselves. The demands of this proposal are so extensive that it is clear that what the FTC is really attempting to do is render any type of network marketing business illegal. If these companies are actually scamming people, then why is it that 1 of every 5 millionaires has made their fortune in the last two or more years through network marketing? Requiring network marketers to be honest, to make honest claims and representations is perfectly justifiable. When you seek to make regulations that are so complex, and that require a network marketer to acquire so much detailed information about a company, you are essentially proposing that they use their time to gather this information rather than recruit people into their downline. What you are proposing is a sleezy, dishonest, and completely underhanded way of trying to shut down the network marketing industry altogether. Go after the real criminals! Go after fraudulent businesses! Leave legitimate network marketing companies alone! Legitimate companies want to share information with prospective recruits! They do not seek to hide pertinent information, or to make false claims!